


Blue Eyes, White Skies

by kamikaze43v3r



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe, Confusion, Late Night Writing, M/M, Were-Creatures
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-02
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-03-10 05:20:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3278273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kamikaze43v3r/pseuds/kamikaze43v3r
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ichigo thinks he's hallucinating due to stress over exams. He'd seen a wild animal that came out of nowhere, but that's just ridiculous. A <i>panther</i>, in the middle of town? And a white one at that? What were the odds? </p><p>Apparently they were very high.</p><p>EDIT: Will no longer be updated. Sorry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Never saw blue like that

**Author's Note:**

> A fic born out of my need to write a werepanther Grimmjow. I have no idea where I'm going with this, I'm just winging it. Don't expect so much out of it, unfortunately, but I hope whoever reads this will enjoy it. I'm just basically typing whatever comes to mind, so it's unedited and unbeta'd and probably not gonna be fixed. I might not even update this, who knows.
> 
> Whatever it is, it's gonna be a crazy but hopefully enjoyable ride!
> 
> Chapter title is a song from Shawn Colvin.

Bright blue eyes framed by teal markings, against blinding white.

That was the last thing Ichigo saw before darkness took over, and he woke to the ceiling of his father’s clinic.

Ichigo stared and blinked at the grey wall before he sat up promptly, hissing when a sharp pain shot through his head and left him dizzy and slightly nauseous. Spotting a glass of water on the side table by the bed, Ichigo took a minute before he reached out for it.

“You’re awake? Good!” Isshin said, sounding relieved as he stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. “Just dizziness and fatigue? Good, good. Nothing serious then, you just need to eat. Yuzu will come by soon with breakfast. You had a good night’s sleep on the street for a while, Ichigo.”

Ichigo set down the glass after emptying within a few gulps and looked to his father in confusion. “What even happened? I don’t really remember…” Ichigo asked, voice trailing off when he remembered those eyes again. And before that, he was just walking home from visiting the convenience store.

“Well, we were hoping you could tell us. Your friend Sado called me to say he’d found you unconscious not far from here. He’s the one who carried you back. You’ve no visible injuries, but it’s more likely you were low on sugar. Did you skip your meals, son?” Isshin asked as he sat down, concern on his usually smiling features. “I know your final exam is coming up, so the stress has been up, but still, I thought Yuzu had nagged you enough on eating what she’s cooked.”

Ichigo blinked at his father, not sure what to say. He was sure that even if he were to tell him what he saw, it’d be shrugged off as stress. And maybe it was stress. It was the the exam before graduation and Ichigo really wanted to do well. He hadn’t skipped any meals but he did cut back on the sleep so perhaps, he was seeing things. He shook his head and shrugged. “Yeah… I guess I just need to eat and sleep more. Thanks, Dad. I’ll call up Sado too.”

And Ichigo did just that. He felt well enough after lunch; Yuzu’s chicken soup had done wonders for him and a kick of love to his shin from Karin left him in a better mood. Ichigo called up Sado and thanked him, and without much effort it was easy to forget what he saw when he wasn’t sure whether it was real or not.

Days went by and soon enough a week passed. Ichigo completed his exams with some ease, unconsciously pushing himself to not think of what happened and focused all his energy on studying and taking care of himself. He wanted to follow his dad’s footsteps and become a doctor or at least a paramedic or something, so aiming for a good college was a good start.

Ichigo had all but forgotten about a set of eyes of a particular shade until he was walking home from yet another night trip to the convenience store, and it was at the same spot, the road by the park connected to a small forest and a lake.

He knew obviously there were wild animals in there, but mainly small animals, like squirrels and rabbits. But the sound that made him stop in his tracks did not sound like any small creature. He’d remembered the eyes again, the image of them once again sharp in his mind, taking his breath away. Those eyes wouldn’t belong to any small animal either. They were too sharp, dangerous to belong anything smaller than a large predator.

There was only darkness in the trees, and Ichigo took a step back when he heard the sound again. He wasn’t even sure what the hell the sound was, like a mix of rustling and dragging through grass and also what sounded like a low growl. Ichigo felt a mix of fear and exhilaration as the sound got louder, indicating whatever was coming was getting closer. Ichigo counted on the road barrier and the distance of the road between it and the sidewalk to buy him time to run from whatever was coming.

Suddenly the sounds stopped.

Ichigo realized he’d been holding his breath and exhaled loudly. He felt his heart hammering in his chest, but he didn’t look away from the darkness in the trees across the road. He took a few side steps to the direction of his home, slowly.

A sudden flash of white appeared and what sounded like a guttural roar shook Ichigo to his very bones, and with a yelp and a jump Ichigo ran off like a bat out of hell. It took him numerous steps before he realized he’d let go of his bag of night snacks and chanced a glance behind him. What he saw crouched over his abandoned bag made him run faster.

It was a fucking panther.

A _panther_!

Why the fuck was a panther in the middle of Karakura town?! And it wasn’t even a normal panther, its fur all white with black tipped ears, tail and feet. What Ichigo really saw was the set of very sharp teeth, dripping with saliva and Ichigo would rather not have those dripping blood, his blood in particular so Ichigo turned back to face the front and run with all his might, no matter what he’d learn about running away from predators taking that action as baiting.

Ichigo’s mind was blank until he reached home, almost stumbling with his house key and slammed the door shut the moment he got in, breathing loud and heavily and coughing as he tried to catch his breath.

His adrenaline was wearing off and he felt dizzy again.

Karin was the only one up and saw him pale faced and sweating and just spooked, and she asked him worriedly what was wrong. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she said, but there was no humour or mocking in her voice.

“Noth.. nothing,” Ichigo panted, trying not to look out of his mind and terrified and in turn, not scare his younger sister. “I was just.. I just got spooked by some kids making weird sounds.. I think it was a prank,” he added, trying to laugh but it came out weak.

Karin, bless her soul, totally saw through him but didn’t push. “Alright.. just, maybe eat some chocolate and take a quick shower? I think that’ll make you feel better,” Karin suggested, concern still in her face, staying with him for a moment before she decided to go back to her room.

Ichigo took her advice and the chocolate did help, and so did the shower. Ichigo’s thoughts were muddled as he changed and trudged back into bed, slumping over it. His mind was reeling from earlier and again he found himself wondering if he was hallucinating.

It couldn’t be, could it? He’d eaten well, he’d slept well, and his exams were over, and it was the holidays, and he was stress free. Did he bump his head some time ago and not realize it? Or could it be there really was a panther? Some sort of albino one at that? Could it even be some sort of spirit guardian of a nearby shrine? When he was little, old ladies liked to scare the children with these stories, but they'd stuck with him even till now.

Ichigo’s head was flooding with all sorts of possibilities and soon he found himself falling asleep. The last thought he remembered was the same set of eyes he’d first seen on the panther, and accompanying that was his honest thought of how beautiful they were.

* * *

Ichigo continued the next day in a bit of a daze, still thinking about the night before. It had Yuzu almost in tears, worried for her brother and Karin had to slap his senses back into him literally before Ichigo got out of his funk. Isshin just gave him a hard knock on the head and a strange tonic drink he was sure he got from that weird shopkeeper friend down the street.

Grateful for his strange yet endearing family’s support, Ichigo had pushed away thoughts of a wild animal run loose in the night. Ichigo even decided to go out for a bit, calling up Renji and Sado for dinner at their usual yakisoba shop.

“You feeling well, Ichigo?” Sado asked while they were enjoying their meal.

“Oh yeah, I heard from Sado you fainted on the street the week before exams. Were you that stressed out?” Renji asked, almost forgetting to swallow his food before speaking.

“Ah.. that, ah I was just stressed, yeah,” Ichigo mumbled, always the terrible liar. Sado gave him a frown that told him he didn’t buy Ichigo’s bullshit, but Renji was more than happy to just leave it be, wolfing down his yakisoba.

Neither of them pursued the topic, other than Sado giving him a look once in a while. They chatted about what they were gonna do for the holidays, other than worrying about their results. Renji was excitedly talking about planning a beach trip with Shuuhei and Izuru, and intended to invite the girls along. Ichigo considered joining them too, while Sado mentioned being busy with a part time job.

They walked out of the shop still engrossed in their discussion. Ichigo was facing Renji who was behind him, bumping right into someone as he exited out of the shop. He let out a sound of surprise, more surprised by how the other person felt more like a brick wall than a human.

Ichigo didn’t know what noise he made when he turned to look who he’d bumped into. He figured it was either a whimper of fear or a whimper of arousal. Ichigo wasn’t so sure of himself the moment he’d laid his eyes on the other person.

Who is a man.

An almost impossibly attractive man, with unruly bright blue hair and equally bright blue eyes that Ichigo couldn’t look away from. Even the unfriendly scowl wasn’t enough to deter Ichigo, and in fact it suited his sharp features magnificently. He was tall, taller than Ichigo by half a head or so, with what seemed like a built physique under a fitted t-shirt and a furred hood jacket. The glint of the silver necklace around his neck added an edge of danger to the man, whose features already screamed that.

Ichigo only realized he was frozen and gawking when Renji nudged him from the back.

“Uh, sorry. ‘scuse me,” Ichigo muttered, remembering his manners as he got out of the way of the entrance and finally stepping out of the shop. The man stopped Ichigo though, grabbing Ichigo by the collar and jerking him back.

That was rude. And Ichigo may consider himself an idiot and socially awkward and overall a goofball at times, but he wasn’t a pushover. He pulled away from the grip and smacked the man’s arm away.

“What the _hell_ \- “ Ichigo began, about to yell at the man but was interrupted by a plastic bag shoved right in his face.

Ichigo stared at it in confusion before he recognized the bag and its contents. It was his bag of night snacks from last night. He gaped at it before the man smacked the bag into his gut, leaving Ichigo no choice but to hold on to it, only to gape at the man, unable to ask the questions stuck in his throat.

The blue haired man just scoffed at him before promptly disappearing into the shop.

“Hey, Ichigo? You alright, man?” Renji asked, shaking Ichigo lightly by the shoulder. “Did you know that guy?”

“Ichigo?” Sado called, when Ichigo didn’t answer.

“His eyes,” was all Ichigo could say. They looked exactly like the panther’s.

* * *

The next couple of days, Ichigo was once again lost in thought, and even his family couldn’t really get him out of it. Yuzu was already crying and Karin had slapped him hard enough to leave a near permanent bruise on his face but Ichigo didn’t budge and even the foul tasting tonic Isshin gave him no longer affected him.

Sado and Renji were worried for their friend too, but neither knew what to do. They tried asking the girls for help.

Rukia and Orihime visited Ichigo’s home soon enough, and by default they’d dragged and unwilling Uryuu along as well. Yuzu tearfully explained the situation once she’d served the guests homemade snacks and drinks, while Ichigo just sat at the couch, still seemingly dazed or so deep in thought he wasn’t aware of his surroundings.

Karin added to Yuzu’s story, reluctantly retelling what had happened a couple days before, when Ichigo first came home looking spooked and had gone into the same daze the following day. No one knew what happened, and Ichigo didn’t tell anyone what he saw.

Rukia had heard enough, and when Ichigo didn’t make any indication that he was aware of her either, she delivered her infamous flying kick to his head that would have made Isshin proud.

“Ow! What the hell was that for?!” Ichigo yelled, rubbing his sore head.

“Big brother!” Yuzu cried in relief, the same time Karin let out an exhale.

“Welcome back to the living, idiot!” Rukia scolded, hands on her hips, while Orihime tried to calm the situation down and Uryuu trying not to be noticed. Ichigo did notice though, out of his daze and his eyes clearer than it had been in a few days.

“What are you guys doing here? Inoue… even Ishida’s here? Did something happen?” Ichigo asked, confused and a little concerned. Rukia gave him another roundhouse kick to the face.

“You idiot!! Do you know how worried everyone’s been for you?! You’ve been in some kind of stupor for a couple of days and all you can say is that!” Rukia was yelling again. Inoue tugged on Rukia’s hand, diffusing the tension momentarily.

“Sado told us you fainted a few days before the exams, and then Karin told us you saw something that scared you not so long ago. Did something happen, Ichigo?” Orihime asked in her usual shy and gentle manner.

“I… nothing, I told you it was some pranks,” Ichigo replied weakly, frowning at Karin who just shrugged at him.

“Abarai told me the day you went out with him and Sado, you bumped into someone you seemed to know,” Ishida cut in, pushing his glasses up his nose. “It appeared to him that the man was the cause of this.. whatever it is that you’re suffering. Love sickness?” Ishida asked dryly, though he looked like he had a tough time covering up his amused smirk.

“It’s not!” Ichigo said defensively, and then he remembered the same intense eyes again and quietened. Everyone noticed that. “It was.. I just thought I knew him. From somewhere.”

Everyone’s focus was suddenly on him, with impatience and others with worry. Ichigo sighed at the attention he was getting and stood up.

“Look, I’m sorry for worrying everyone, but I’ll figure it out, alright? I’ll.. I’ll go take a walk. Cool off and think it out Don’t worry about me, don’t follow me. If I take too long, then you guys can look for me at the park. I should be hanging around there or something,” Ichigo said quickly, grabbing his keys before anyone could say anything. “Just. Leave me to myself for a bit.”

Ichigo tried not to slam the door shut after him. He sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets and walked to the roadside where he’d seen the… panther. It was still daylight, and not till a number of hours before nightfall, so Ichigo felt safe to do so.

He was still trying to wrap his head around what he’d seen. And then there was that man. Blue eyes and blue hair. And a gait and aura that was equal parts majestic and dangerous. His rude demeanour had put him off, but there was also the fact that the man had given him the bag of snacks he’d left to the panther as he ran away that night.

Who was he anyway? Did he find Ichigo’s snacks in the middle of the street? But how would he know they belonged to him? Did he see what happened as Ichigo ran off? Did he see the panther? And an even crazier thought - was the man the panther itself?

Ichigo laughed at himself and noticed he was at his destination. He stared at the same spot where the panther had jumped out, standing there as people walked by and vehicles driving past. In the day, the place seemed harmless. Just lots of trees, and if he were to squint, he’d be able to catch a glimpse of the lake at the end.

He’d almost jumped out of his skin when someone’s hand landed on his shoulder suddenly. Ichigo turned around and came face to face with the same person who’s been plaguing his thoughts. The grip on Ichigo’s shoulder tightened, not enough to be painful, but enough to keep Ichigo from bolting, though Ichigo had no such thought to do so. He was going to face this head on, no more running away. He wanted answers, and the man before him wasn’t a dangerous animal.

Or at least, he didn’t think so.

“What do you want,” Ichigo asked flatly, putting on his own scowl. The other man regarded him, looking quite impressed with what he saw. His blue eyes never left Ichigo’s brown. He wondered if they were getting stares from passer bys, but nobody seemed to care.

“Did you see?” the blue haired man said, the first words Ichigo ever heard him speak. His voice matched his looks, not too deep but a touch raspy at its edge. Ichigo could imagine his growl.

“See?” Ichigo replied, trying to keep his voice neutral to get gauge on the other man.

The guy raised a brow. “That night,” he said simply.

Ichigo’s eyes widened. “So you’re…?”

“I saw the panther, yeah,” the man said, after a minute pause. Ichigo tried to figure out if he was lying, but was unsuccessful. Instead, Ichigo felt his face fall, as if expecting him to admit something else, but quickly recovered, though not fast enough for the other to not notice. His smirk became a grin that appeared predatory and Ichigo thought it cemented his suspicions about the other man’s real identity, no matter how crazy it was.

“Why, you thought _I’m_ the panther?” the man asked. He laughed, and it sound wicked, almost deranged, and basically everything the man did made Ichigo think of a goddamn panther. But Ichigo kept mum and just scowled, not appreciating the way the man was making fun of him.

“Lighten up, red. I saw the panther and you running off. It probably escaped from the zoo or some mountains some where. You looked really spooked though, didn’t think you’d come walking this way again,” the other man continued talking. Ichigo realized he’d finally let go of his shoulder.

“Whatever. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t run away seeing a panther coming at you,” Ichigo grumbled, playing along. The man shrugged.

“Nobody ever told you not to run from predators?”

Ichigo huffed, “Seems like I was fortunate enough that it didn’t give chase.”

Their strange conversation stopped there, and the two of them just gazed at each other, still sizing the other up. Eventually the other man broke the silence, turning to walk away.

“Just stay away from this area,” he said as he walked off. “Wouldn’t want your family to worry finding you unconscious again.”

“Wait, how’d you... “ Ichigo’s eyes widened. Was this guy even trying to confuse him or convince him? Ichigo’s wild thought of the man being some shapeshifter into a white panther was still too far fetched to be believable but with the things he said it was hard to dismiss it too.

Ichigo walked back home feeling even more confused and frustrated.

* * *

Ichigo pretty much sulked and pouted and locked himself in his room for the rest of the night and the next day. He apologized to Yuzu profusely as she brought him his lunch and told his family he was trying to sort things out.

In a way, he was. Ichigo was trying to figure out what to do with the knowledge of the blue haired man’s possible identity. It was still crazy, and maybe he was kinda hopeful for something wacky in his life to focus on. There were two simple options that he’d thought of. Obviously, he could ignore it and move on with his life, never leaving his house at night to buy snacks. Or, he could be an idiot and possibly get himself killed by a wild animal just to sate his curiosity.

And boy, the latter option was really tempting.

What about the man though? Pfft, obviously there were no such things as shapeshifters, even if the idea is completely rad and would be cool. Ichigo could just theorize and hope, alright? Or he could have been some very knowledgeable guy who just happened to see him running from a panther. And him knowing about Ichigo fainting? Maybe he was actually a neighbour, and frequented the same area to probably but night snacks too. Or it was both - a mix of unbelievable and plausible, and that he was actually the master of the panther?

Ichigo snorted and shoved his face in his pillows, trying not to break down in tears or laughter. He felt hysterical, almost wild in the way his thoughts were rushing in his head. He was obsessed with the panther now, and all the while he thought he was hallucinating and then some blue-haired guy showed up and cemented the existence of it, and hinting things that Ichigo didn’t know what to think.

After some deliberation Ichigo dragged himself out of his room to join his family for dinner and planned his actions for that night.

He thanked his family for the food once he was done with dinner and waited for midnight, when the rest of them went to sleep.

Ichigo slipped on his hoodie, wrote a quick note with important points about a panther and the route he was going, and shot a text to Sado about where he would be for the night, just in case. Sado wouldn’t ask questions because he was a bro like that, but this time since Ichigo had been acting weird, he’d texted back a short ‘why’ and Ichigo replied that he’ll explain later.

Okay, he was gonna do this. With the notes and the text and his most comfortable hoodie and sneakers on, Ichigo felt secure. Sort of. He didn’t have any weapons or tools on him other than his cell phone, and he wouldn’t bring a knife because that would be stupid and dangerous, wild animal or no. Besides, Japan doesn’t look too kindly on possession of weapons either.

He took a deep breath and walked his way to the same spot. No, maybe he’ll try his luck at the park there and wait. Maybe the panther would like some company and join him at the bench, he thought humorlessly.

Once Ichigo reached the spot where he’d been nearly jumped by the panther, he stood there and stared into the darkness in the trees, trying to catch sight of a familiar shade of blue and startling white. After waiting for ten minutes and no sign of anything, Ichigo continued his way to the park, not far from there.

Maybe he was too late, and the panther wasn’t around anymore at this time of night. Or it just wasn’t around anymore in general. Perhaps moved on to another forest, or went back to wherever it came from. Ichigo was secretly hoping he’d see the blue haired man, and then perhaps he’ll get proper answers.

Ichigo waited there for another ten minutes before getting restless, pacing about as he listened for any noise, any growls or any more colour in the shadows of the moonlight. But there was nothing.

Patience was virtue, right? So Ichigo endured another fifteen minutes, mostly out of nothing else to do, and still hoping for just… something. Anything.

Eventually, thirty minutes went by and Ichigo gave up. Dusting himself off, Ichigo was just about to head home when a figure appeared by the trees, and lo and behold, it was the blue haired man.

“Y-you…!” was the only thing Ichigo could say, still flabbergasted. The other man didn’t look as pristine as he was before though. He looked rather tired instead, his clothes rumpled and his blue hair messier. But his eyes remained as bright and as intense. Ichigo still couldn’t look away.

“You’re either really curious or really stupid,” the guy said with an expression Ichigo wasn’t sure what to make of. He always looked too pissed off or smug to reveal any other emotion, but Ichigo guessed he was grudgingly amused.

“What… I mean, who are you?” Ichigo asked, finally managing to arrange his thoughts.

“I’m a werepanther,” the blue haired man stated with a shrug, as if it was the most normal thing to say. Ichigo gaped like a fish out of water.

“You.. so you really are- You..” Ichigo’s temper was rising. He closed the distance between them and the next thing he knew, he’d punch the freaking werepanther in the face. The other looked just as surprised, clearly not expecting it either.

“What the hell, man?! The first time, you.. knocked me out?! And the next time you freakin’ jumped me, and then the next day you return me my snacks, and then when I came back in the day you talked to me with - I don’t even know whether you were threatening me or what!” Ichigo yelled, though he quickly quietened into an angry whisper when he remembered what time it was.

The werepanther or whatever he was, rubbed the spot on his face where he’d been punched, but didn’t look that affected. There wasn’t even a mark on him, while Ichigo’s knuckles were burning. He tried not to look like it was hurting him instead.

“You were about to scream, I had to keep you quiet,” was the reply. “And the other time, you just ran. You didn’t make a sound, so I let you off. And I wanted to see how’d you react if I returned your stuff. You were easy to track, you have a distinct smell.” Ichigo scowled, taking that comment more of an insult coming from the man.

“Fine, whatever,” Ichigo said, rubbing his face and just feeling exhausted. He lowered his hands and their gazes met again. “So, you’re a werepanther and… I guess this is your territory.” A nod. “Have you always been here or…?” A shrug, and at that, Ichigo frowned. The man didn’t seem to want to answer. His brows had furrowed more and Ichigo could tell it was a topic he wouldn’t want to push.

“Are you.. hunting for food or something? Have you been hunting people..?!” though if there were news of missing people or animal attacks, Ichigo would know by now. The other man’s expressive brows seemed to convey the same thing to Ichigo. Ichigo rolled his eyes at the man’s sass. “Has no one else seen you?”

A pause, and then a short reply. “You’re the only stubborn one who keeps walking around here in the middle of the night even after all the hints.”

“You mean the growling and the rustling?” Ichigo had been hearing those strange sounds for a while now, but always thought it was just the sounds of nature. Okay, maybe he is kinda dense. “Right. Fine, I guess normal people would be too freaked out to come back here listening to the weird sounds you make.”

“And you’re not normal?”

“Depends on your definition, and this is such a cheesey thing to say,” Ichigo sighed. He was still trying to process what was happening. “Can you.. show me your transformation?”

At that, though, the werepanther’s expression turned angry, almost vicious as he put on an animalistic visage with his lips curled back, baring his teeth in a snarl. Ichigo felt the ice cold fear shooting down the back of his spine. He’d only just realized he really shouldn’t be fucking around like this. Humans are already dangerous, and he was part animal to boot, that should really have rung alarm bells.

Ichigo took a step back, and that seemed to bring the blue haired man back to his senses. He schooled his features, though a look of regret seemed to linger there. The man shook his head and turned away to disappear into the trees without a word, leaving Ichigo by himself.

“W-wait!” Ichigo called before he could stop himself. Unsurprisingly, the man didn’t answer.

* * *

Ichigo kept up his nightly visits to the park. He didn’t have anything else to do, really, other than his part time job in the day. Unfortunately the panther seemed to be avoiding him, and though that discouraged Ichigo, he still found himself looking forward to leaving the house in the middle of the night, sitting at his usual spot at the park and make a game of ‘spot the elusive werepanther’.

If the shapeshifter really didn’t want him around, he’d have chased Ichigo off, threaten him with bodily harm or something, anything. Instead the creature left him be, and Ichigo wondered what he was doing out here in the trees. Sometimes Ichigo could hear the faint sounds of splashing, and imagined that the panther took a dip in the lake. Wild cats seem to love water more than the average house cat, so it was possible. Ichigo just wished he could see it.

A few days of the routine became a week, and then two, and despite no contact with the shapeshifter in either beast or human form, Ichigo continued to visit. Sometimes he brought a book with him (some of the park lamps were left on, the lights slightly dimmed but still bright enough to read in), most of the time his radio set at a low volume, and occasionally a snack or two, usually rice balls, Yuzu made. When he could, he’d leave one behind, and Ichigo would find it missing the next day.

By the third week, Ichigo had finished reading two books and was starting a new one.

“Don’t you have a life?” the werepanther asked as he appeared from behind Ichigo. Ichigo was strangely proud that he didn’t startle this time.

“Shut up,” Ichigo grumbled, though he spoke without heat. The man looked better now. Not as messy and tired as Ichigo had last saw him. He stood by Ichigo, seemingly debating on whether to join him on the bench before he relented and sat down.

“Did you make the snacks?”

“My younger sister did. They’re delicious, yeah?” Ichigo said with a proud grin.

“Makes me wonder why you’d go out for night snacks.”

Ichigo shrugged. “I’m allowed to enjoy potato chips once in a while.” The man huffed, the sound close to a laugh.

Silence followed but it wasn’t awkward. “I’m Ichigo, by the way. We’re really late on the introductions.”

“Never really bothered with names,” came the reply. _Rude_ , Ichigo thought when the man didn’t respond with his own name but said nothing. “I knew your name. The guy who carried you home kept calling you Ichigo.”

“Oh.” He was referring to Sado then. Ichigo wondered if his friend saw anything that night. He'd forgotten to ask.

“I didn’t mean to knock you out,” he continued, sounding quieter. “It was a… reflex. No one was supposed to see, to know.” Ichigo considered the explanation. He didn’t appreciate being knocked out, but considering that this was a pretty big secret and it seemed like Ichigo was the first to be in on it, he figured the man had panicked, even if he wouldn’t admit it.

“It’s fine,” Ichigo sighed. “At least I wasn’t hurt. Just knocked unconscious. The most I felt was a little dizzy and sick, but nothing permanent. Other than thinking I was going mad.” Ichigo chuckled despite himself. It felt so long ago now, when it really wasn’t.

“Of course. No such things as werewolves and all those storybook fantasy stuff,” the man added with a snort.

“I know, it’s crazy. When you appeared, for whatever reason I thought you were the panther. You gave off the vibe,” Ichigo said, unable to hold back a shy smile. “It was too far fetched, but life’s boring and all, so I’d hoped that the crazy theory was true. And it turned out, yeah. You really are some.. werecreature thing. And it’s been… interesting. An emotional rollercoaster at first because hey, I saw something but there was no evidence of it, and it kinda attacked me. And then infuriating, because you came up to me and messed with my head. And then now, frankly, kinda boring, since all I do is try to even find you in the shadows and all.”

Ichigo took a moment to catch his breath, not noticing he’d spoken so many words. He exhaled and let slip a smile on his features, trying to appear friendly. “But… it’s still interesting.”

Ichigo watched the man as he huffed with a shake of his head, “Humans.”

“That’s me. One in a few millions. Is that how the saying goes?” Ichigo replied, suddenly feeling like he was rambling compared to the werepanther’s short answer. They lapsed into another silence.

“The name’s Grimmjow,” the man said, meeting Ichigo’s eyes for the first time that night. He still had his usual scowl, but that was the man’s default expression, so Ichigo didn’t take it to heart. For all he knew, it could be the man’s happy face.

“Grimm… jow,” Ichigo repeated. “Wow, very apt.”

Ichigo didn’t expect the genuine smile that came after his comment. “Could say the same for you.”

“Oh god, I thought you were above that,” Ichigo groaned, facepalming.

“Couldn’t help it,” Grimmjow said with a laugh. It sounded less threatening now, almost soft, even.

“Ugh, for that, I’m leaving you for the night. Go reflect on your bad sense of humor,” Ichigo grumbled though he was smirking. He’d already stood up, walking out of the park to head home.

“Hey Ichigo,” he’d heard Grimmjow call, but Ichigo wanted to wave him off. “Don’t come back.” That made Ichigo promptly stop in his tracks and turn back, opening his mouth to demand answers, but Grimmjow was already gone.


	2. Don't it make my brown eyes blue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is a song by Crystal Gayle. I don't listen to these songs, I just like the titles lol. Hope you guys will enjoy this chapter. Still not to sure where this is gonna go but here's to hoping!
> 
> These will forever be unbeta'd because I'm too damn lazy, and this is literally just 'I came up with what to write on the spot with no prior planning' kind of story, so I'm so sorry for the mistakes all the things confusing and not adding up.

“‘Don’t come back’, he says,” Ichigo found himself mumbling a couple of later. He felt unreasonably annoyed as he recalled the phrase, but he was sure it was mostly because the werepanther had disappeared after that night.

Ichigo had visited the next night, and then the night after, and he continued his visits through the week. But Grimmjow had disappeared completely. Ichigo didn’t even hear the usual hints of his presence. No low growls, no rustling of grass under padded feet, not even a glimpse of white or blue. It was like he’d completely vanished.

Ichigo thought the man was an ass. How could he just appear in his life looking smug and cocky, intrigue Ichigo with his very existence as a being that was thought to just be a fairy tale, and then just disappeared. And he’d given Ichigo his name too!

Why would you give someone your name and then say something to shun someone away, Ichigo thought, still pissed for whatever reason. He’d been bitter, but ever since that night, he’d felt better too. Like he wasn’t worried or hysterical about seeing things that shouldn’t be.

Grimmjow finally coming up to him with some answers had really helped. And now he was gone.

“If you glared any harder, you’d set something on fire,” Uryuu commented, sounding exasperated and pulling Ichigo out of his thoughts.

“Don’t,” Ichigo warned rolling his eyes. Ichigo was out with his usual clique, Uryuu, Renji and Sado, for some guy time. It was a lazy Sunday, and the place they’d chosen wasn’t too particularly crowded or empty. They would be busy once they get their results - which was going to be very soon - each of them going on their own way whether it was work or school. Though, hanging out at a cafe might not constitute as a good use of time, but they were in the midst of catching up and gossips. It was just that Ichigo was still too distracted from the thoughts of a certain werepanther.

Sado gave him a knowing look but said nothing, Renji piping up to order another dessert and bickering with Uryuu about tastes. Ichigo had given Sado a summarized version of what was going on with him, and even though Ichigo was sure he sounded absolutely nuts, Sado nodded and that was that. The larger teen had given his thoughts about Ichigo’s situation, always logical and level headed, and Ichigo wasn’t sure whether Sado believed him but it felt like he’d back Ichigo up. There was a reason why they’d been best friends for so long.

“At least you look better now, maybe the holidays are just what you need,” Renji said, stuffing his mouth with ice cream as he eyed passing girls. Uryuu scoffed.

“Maybe he sorted things out with his new boyfriend,” the bespectacled one muttered, earning a glare from Ichigo.

“He’s not, and he doesn’t matter,” Ichigo said, folding his arms defensively. Uryuu’s raised brow and smirk only made him more infuriated, but didn’t rise to the bait.

“Hey, did you guys hear?” Renji suddenly interjected once he’d finished the his dessert as Ichigo sipped on his latte. “Rukia said she thought she saw a white panther when she was walking home!”

Ichigo did a spit-take; Uryuu was fortunate not to be in his way. Sado, who’d heard about Ichigo’s own account of said panther, patted Ichigo assuringly on the back as he coughed. Both Renji and Uryuu looked to Ichigo questioningly.

“I uh.. I mean, a panther? That’s dangerous! I have to tell my sisters to take care,” Ichigo tried feebly, wiping his mouth and chin.

“Yeah, but, a panther? Come on,” Renji frowned. “There hasn’t been news of it. If such a thing happened it would have been all over.”

“I don’t think it’ll attack humans, unless it’s really hungry,” Uryuu added while he toyed with the spoon in his cup.

“I guess not,” Ichigo sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Could it have been Grimmjow? Or some other werepanther? What were the chances of the existence of other werepanthers, or other mythical creatures for that matter? Or, it could really just be a normal panther, that just happened have white fur. Yep.

“Rukia said she saw it a couple of blocks near our school though, but it was in the evening, I think,” Renji continued, oblivious to Ichigo’s discomfort. “She rang me up about it yesterday, on her way home from Orihime’s, but it could be she was just seeing things. Maybe she ate too much of Orihime’s cooking!”

“Orihime’s cooking is not that bad. She just has an acquired taste,” Uryuu muttered defensively, ignoring Renji’s gleeful grins.

“Yeah, it could be,” Ichigo replied distantly.

“Whatever it is, let’s just be careful,” Sado added helpfully, his eyes still on Ichigo. The group soon went on their separate ways; Uryuu supposedly had a date while Renji had to go grocery shopping. Sado and Ichigo decided to go somewhere to discuss about Ichigo’s werepanther issue.

“So,” Sado started, with a neutral expression that Ichigo could tell was worry, from their numerous years of friendship. “About the panther.”

“Yeah,” Ichigo sighed, trying to collect his thoughts, as they both sat down on the swings at an empty playground. It was late afternoon, most of the kids had gone home for dinner. Ichigo thought he should too, to join his family, but he could miss out once or twice. He’d already told them before he left the house that he’d most likely eat out.

“Do you think it’s him?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen him in a while,” Ichigo admitted, slowly moving himself on the swing, pushing back and forth. “It’s too much of a coincidence to be another panther, and a white one at that. Aren’t albinos supposed to be rare anyway?” Sado nodded at that.

“I don’t even know if he’ll be a danger to anyone. I mean, the first time, he said it was because I was about to cause a racket, and I get it, he didn’t want me to bring attention to him,” Ichigo continued, unable to stop now. “And it’s not like he hurt me. And he was.. nice. An ass, sure, but he was civil.” Ichigo snorted at the thought. Grimmjow just appeared rude, but he didn’t do anything else to warrant that thought. “Just wish he didn’t tell me his name and then ‘poof’ - not gonna see him again. What an ass move.”

Sado laughed, and Ichigo was rather startled hearing that. His friend just gave him an amused grin. “You sound like you’re pouting. Or when Renji or Uryuu does something to worry you, even though you guys snipe at each other all the time.”

“I guess,” Ichigo scowled, brows furrowing and looking away. “It’s not like he’s my friend, but.. I guess I wanted us to be friends.”

“Are you still going to that park area?” Sado asked. He’d stood up and helped to push Ichigo on the swing instead.

“Yeah. I should’ve stopped when he didn’t appear for three days, but I’ve found the place calming,” Ichigo confessed. “So, screw him. It’s my spot to relax now.” If Ichigo thought he sounded petulant, it was nobody’s business.

“It’s probably not my place to say this, since I’ve not met the guy other than that time at the yakisoba shop,” Sado said, sounding thoughtful. “But, just be careful alright? He may be a human or a werepanther, but panthers are still wild animals.”

“I know,” Ichigo murmured, cheering a bit when Sado gave a hard push that made him swing higher. “But it’s not like I’m gonna see him again!”

“Maybe,” Sado replied and with another hard push, he’d practically thrown Ichigo off the swing. Fortunately, the red head was agile enough to land on his feet and glared back at him. Sado grinned apologetically, though it wasn’t very sincere.

“You think he’ll come back?” Ichigo asked, dusting the back of his pants off. He tried not to sound too hopeful, but to Sado it did anyway.

“From what Renji said about Rukia spotting him, or at least we think it’s him,” Sado said, as they began their walk home. “Then at least, he’s still in town. And this town’s pretty small, so who knows, you might stumble on each other again.”

“I’ll punch him, then,” Ichigo huffed, shoving his hands in his pockets. Sado just smirked and nodded, seeing that that would be what Ichigo would do.

“Just don’t pine too hard in the mean time. The others have been asking,” he commented, his smirk turning into a grin. Sado took the opposite turn towards his house, leaving Ichigo to sputter and blush about what he’d said.

* * *

Grimmjow was not pleased. Didn’t he say, ‘Don’t come back’? What about that sentence was so hard to understand? His panther spirit rustled inside him, and he could feel their emotions mixed, his expression mixed with hers; a predatory snarl baring teeth.

Grimmjow was angry. Not furious, but definitely irked. He didn’t understand why the kid - Ichigo - didn’t heed what he said. Was he stupid? Stubborn? And he could still look so comfortable just sitting there, reading his damn book under the lamp in the middle of the night without a care in the world.

He’d taken extra care not to be seen, hoping the kid would just go away and get the hint that he wasn’t coming back. But that was what he did, wasn’t it? He came back too, the both of them did, as if pulled together, so that made the both of them idiots.

Maybe it wasn’t the kid’s fault. Grimmjow didn’t explain to him everything, though why should he. But any normal person should really not be involved with anyone who can transform into a dangerous wild animal, really.

Days went on, and Ichigo continued to visit, just like before. Grimmjow remained in the shadows in his panther form, watching the human stealthily. Previously he’d made his presence known even though he didn’t approach. This time it would be too dangerous. To involve the kid, or any human, would be foolish. Humans had no place being involved with the supernatural. They were supposed to be the ignorant race, oblivious to the going ons of the world. Humans were already a danger to themselves; to bring more chaos by adding the existence of supernatural beings was just going to fuck up the world balance.

His need to transform into his natural self at least once a day, the need to hunt, to own territory and patrol it every night. It should be too much for a normal human to understand. He’d come to this part of town earlier that year, having escaped from another rare presence of a werecreature. There were few of them left, in the world, but that just meant that their territory would be expanded into larger areas, sometimes one werecreature to a single town.

Grimmjow had kept himself to a certain part for now, planning to eventually expand it the longer he’d stayed there. At the moment he was just fond of the park-lake area, where he could hunt small game and take a dip in the lake. The humans mostly populate the area in the day, when his panther side wasn’t as active, so it was fine.

He had been sensing some other suspicious presence around in his territory lately, hence his need to patrol the area, sometimes even in daylight. It was starting to get dangerous though; he was sure someone else had seen him - a girl - when he was stalking the wooded area not too far from a school. The panther in Grimmjow had bristled suddenly, and both of them perked up and immediately went after something that just didn’t feel right.

It had turned out to be nothing, and Grimmjow was cranky the rest of the day, because he didn’t get to find out what ever it was that was bugging him, someone had probably seen him, and the stupid kid - Ichigo - was still at the damn park.

As a panther, he was used to being solitary. He got along with his panther spirit, and they had each other, so he wasn’t entirely alone, even if they were one and the same. It was hard to explain exactly how they as werecreatures worked, but there’s them, and then there’s their beast side.

Humans and werecreatures never really got on, at least not from Grimmjow’s personal experience. He knew some of his kin were, like Starrk, who was just too laid back to care, while others, like Szayel and Baraggan, saw humans beneath them. For Grimmjow, he hated everything equally, so it didn’t matter either.

_What about the kid_ , Pantera - his panther spirit - purred, sounding amused, much to Grimmjow’s annoyance. She didn’t exactly have a voice, but more like his own thoughts, just with a slight feeling of dissociation and distortion.

“What about ‘im,” Grimmjow grumped, out loud since no one was paying attention to him. Even if anyone did, he hardly cared. He was strolling through the shopping district, just to pass the time, waiting for evening to come so he could do his nightly patrols. Transforming into his panther form was the only thing he’d been really looking forward to anyway.

_He’s a curious sort_ , Pantera said. Grimmjow grunted in reply, scowling at an unfortunate salesperson he was walking past.

“They say curiosity killed the cat,” he mumbled back, getting a huff in return.

_He’ll be waiting again tonight_ , the panther said, sounding like she was having none of Grimmjow’s stubbornness - about what Grimmjow didn’t even know. He didn’t respond. Only after he’d gotten back to his own 2-room apartment - rather small but a cosy den of his own - did he respond, albeit reluctantly.

“Fine, I’ll go see him. Tell him to stop being so stupid,” Grimmjow grumbled. He curled up in his futon, waiting for night to fall, and ended up dozing off.

He awoke to the familiar ache and sharp pain that accompanied his transformation. His head jerked up, his whole body arched upwards as the beast within clawed its way out. His anatomy readjusted itself, bones snapping, muscles shifting and skin stretching and tearing to make way for fur. Within minutes, his lithe human body was replaced by a panther of brilliant, sterile white, save for the black on the tips of its ears, paws and tail.

Both Grimmjow and Pantera growled; they’d been awoken by the same unfamiliar presence again. He turned to his open window, feeling the night breeze rustling his ivory coat. He pounced out through said window, stealthily navigating through the concrete jungle, mostly keeping to the roofs.

Grimmjow’s feline form slinked through the shadows, his strides swift and sure. He followed the presence as it moved through town, and Grimmjow was determined to catch whatever the thing was. It didn’t take long for him to notice where it was headed, and that only made him move faster.

The kid was most likely still there, waiting like the idiot he was. Grimmjow growled at the thought, running as fast as his four legs could carry him. Within minutes, he’d reached the park, and just as he’d expected, Ichigo was still there, oblivious to the presence that was fast approaching.

As if sensing his presence, Ichigo looked up and their eyes met. And for a moment, a ghost of a smile lingered on the other’s lips, but disappeared into a frown. Ichigo stood, as if wanting to move towards him but stopped short and whirled around behind him to the sound of branches cracking and dry leaves and grass crunching under heavy feet.

A giant shadowy figure stepped out of the forest, as tall as the highest trees but wider, pushing them out of its way. Its shape was like a pillar, with white feet yet no arms, and its face was a mask with jagged teeth and a sharp long nose. It had empty eye sockets, save for the glowing orbs that were unseeing. Its mouth stretched open and let out a piercing cry.

“What the fu-” Ichigo blurted out, and jumped out of the creature’s way. Grimmjow pounded over to the young man, chomping onto the teen’s hoodie and dragged him off to the side. “Grimmjow! What -”

But the werepanther snapped his jaws at him, silencing whatever Ichigo wanted to say. They had more pressing matters in the form of a fucking giant monster.

Grimmjow had heard of these creatures. They were supposedly the form of regretful souls compressed into one form. What the hell it was doing in his town, Grimmjow didn’t care, but he welcomed the inevitable fight to come. He heard Pantera’s excited growl in the back of his head and he echoed it out loud. Grimmjow coiled back, before he burst towards the giant, easily climbing its form with his claws digging into its cold flesh.

The masked creature thrashed and stomped; the trees in the park destroyed from its flailing. Grimmjow clawed at its face, cracking the edges and earning a pained cry. Using his weapons of claws and jaws, Grimmjow took down the creature with some ease; its erratic movements to throw him off had almost succeeded, but Grimmjow had a good grip. The giant wasn’t very smart either, which made it an easy kill.

The masked creature soon toppled as Grimmjow ripped chunks of its flesh with his jaws. It fell dead on the ground, bringing down much of the vegetation with it, and the park looked as if a hurricane or a bulldozer had torn through it. The body of the creature glowed and slowly disintegrated into nothingness, and Grimmjow thought of it as a blessing. Saved him the trouble of cleaning the mess up so the general human population wouldn’t know of their existence.

Grimmjow had almost forgotten Ichigo’s presence, until said young man spoke. “What the hell was that?!” Grimmjow turned to face the teen, who looked pale but otherwise somewhat calm. He considered transforming back into his human form so it would be easier to communicate, but he’d be naked, and humans, for whatever reason, were so terrified and embarrassed of the naked human body that he decided not to.

Instead, Grimmjow shook his head and stalked past the confused human, not answering his question. Unsurprisingly, the stubborn teen followed after him, demanding answers. What he didn’t expect, was for him to tug on his freaking tail. Grimmjow let out a hiss and snapped his jaws at Ichigo again.

_He is very stupid_ , Pantera commented, sounding amused. Grimmjow exhaled loudly in a mix of exasperation and agreement. His tail flickered as he stilled, watching Ichigo with consideration, enough to make the boy fidget.

“I just wanted to talk to you,” Ichigo said, sounding irritated. “You showed up, talked to me, gave me your name and you disappeared. And then suddenly you pop up again and killed some giant monster right in front of me, and you’re just gonna walk off?!”

His chocolate brown eyes stared back at Grimmjow’s cool blue, his gaze never wavering. Pantera made a sound of approval. Eventually Grimmjow gave a subtle nod and jerked his head, signalling Ichigo to follow him. The young man did, looking wary as he did, but the determined expression remained on his face.

Both of them left the half-destroyed park and towards Grimmjow’s place.

It was a 15 minute walk to Grimmjow’s apartment. Grimmjow made use of the roofs again to avoid being seen, but kept himself visible enough for Ichigo to follow. The red head didn’t say anything, until they reached Grimmjow’s door, with Grimmjow slipping into the apartment from where he’d come out of.

Grimmjow transformed back into his human body, craning his neck and stretched his limbs before he slipped on some pants, lamenting briefly on the loss of his clothes at the sudden transformation earlier. He tugged on a tank top as well, before he opened the door for Ichigo, who looked more nervous now, probably still cautious about entering a supernatural being’s den.

“Sit,” Grimmjow said, sounding more like an order than a suggestion. Ichigo scowled but did anyway, sitting right at the edge of the simple couch in the sparsely furnished apartment. Grimmjow sat on a stool he’d dragged in across him.

“Start with what the hell that was in the park,” Ichigo demanded, leaning forward. His eyes never left Grimmjow’s, as if seeing right into him. Grimmjow sighed, running a hand through his blue locks.

“That was my first time seein’ one, but I’ve heard of ‘em,” Grimmjow replied. “They’re supposed to be rare, they’re a mass of souls turned to those things.” Ichigo looked… sad, upon hearing that. Which was weird. “And also the reason why I told you not to come back.” Well, Grimmjow didn’t expect those things to show up, but the idea was that his world was dangerous, and humans would just make it messier than it already is. Usually his problems came in the form of minor woodland magic beings, or other werecreatures who were passing by or trying to take over his territory.

And now this giant thing appeared and left physical evidence of its existence, and it’s all fucked and messy and Grimmjow totally did not sign up for this.

“Why was it there, in the park?” Ichigo asked, confused. “Are there gonna be more of them? How come there wasn’t anything like this before?”

That was a good question. Grimmjow had picked this town because it was quiet to the point of boring, even though he hated both. Something did pull him to this town, so was it the same for the giant masked creature? But it headed towards the park, of all places.

“I don’t know, just because I’m a supernatural being doesn’t mean I know everything to do with supernatural,” Grimmjow grumbled, crossing his arms. Ichigo sighed and scratched his head. “In any case, you’ve already seen what happened, and I told ya to not come back. It’s the perfect time for you to stop being an idiot and not get yourself involved with this.”

“It’s kind of too late now,” Ichigo replied stubbornly, leaning back on the sofa. “I don’t think I can forget about all of this, even if I tried.”

“How about avoiding, have ya heard of that?” Grimmjow shot back, a brow raised. Ichigo didn’t answer for a moment.

“What if I don’t want to,” Ichigo said, a little quieter this time. Grimmjow almost balked at that. But Ichigo continued, although looking a bit put out, “I understand the danger. I get it. I did see what happened and I’m not stupid. I know I’m just a human and I almost died earlier if you didn’t come along. I’ll.. try to get out of the way.”

Grimmjow stared at Ichigo, who looked a little sulky despite the words he said. “As long we have that understanding,” Grimmjow responded eventually. He stood up and went to his fridge, retrieving a canned soda and passed it to Ichigo.

“It’s late, and who knows if there’s more of those things out there. You can crash here for the night, but I want ya gone and never go back to the park, or around me, once ya leave tomorrow. Got it?” Grimmjow told him sternly. Ichigo nodded, appearing like a reprimanded boy as he popped open the beverage and took a sip.

Grimmjow disappeared into his room and took some spare pillows and blanket, and passed to Ichigo, who took them without a word, settling into the couch and made himself comfortable. He looked sheepish about imposing on him, Grimmjow guessed, but had smiled at him in gratitude, which Grimmjow wasn’t used to.

“You didn’t get hurt from that monster thing… did you?” Ichigo asked suddenly, just as Grimmjow was about to retreat to his own bed. The werepanther was surprised; it wasn’t often that anyone was concerned for his well being, since he hardly interacted with anyone at all.

“...No, it was an easy kill, I’m fine,” Grimmjow muttered back. “Go to sleep, kid.” Ichigo huffed at being called that, but said nothing, pulling the blanket over his shoulders.

“Goodnight, Grimmjow,” the werepanther heard Ichigo murmur sleepily, his sharp hearing easily picking up quiet whisper from his room. “And thanks.”

Pantera’s loud purr in his thoughts brought back his focus, and Grimmjow said nothing as he slipped into his bed. He wondered whether he would face more of those giant creatures in the future, and also if Ichigo would really stay away this time. He heard Pantera say something, but it was lost to him as he fell asleep.

When Grimmjow awoke the next morning, Ichigo was gone, pillows set aside and blanket folded neatly on top of them.


	3. When I close my eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is still going on... and it has plot, because I am incapable of writing stuff without plot, and they're all so long winded i end up not finishing them. I'm sorry.
> 
> Don't hold on to your seats for the next chapter because I'm still writing and making things up as I go along so who knows when it'll be updated. Very possibly never lol *stares guiltily at other incomplete works*
> 
> Chapter title is from a song of the same name by Shanice.

Ichigo went on with his day like nothing had happened. Like there were no such things as werecreatures and giant evil spirit manifestations. Like he hadn’t met Grimmjow.

Or so he hoped.

It was hard to do so when they’ve not only left imprints on him, but on the physical world too. The park last night? The trees were destroyed, and no one knew what happened. People have come forward on sightings of a white creature stalking the woods by the park, along with rumors of a violent spirit or the like making their anger known and had caused the destruction to the trees. 

Ichigo remained at home because he didn’t want to deal with questions he knew Sado was gonna ask, and didn’t want to walk by the park he knew he was gonna end up going to. But staying at home meant the television, where the news was on talking about the park, and his family was giving him looks that told he wasn’t acting as if everything was normal the moment he got back.

At least, they didn’t ask him what happened. He’d probably snap.

So Ichigo stuck himself in his room, trying to sort his thoughts out.

Grimmjow had told him it was dangerous, and he agreed. He wasn’t stupid, he wasn’t going to be that dumb character who would only get in the way and make life difficult for others. Ichigo wasn’t the main protagonist; surely that was Grimmjow’s role. He was only human.

Ichigo found himself waking up and realized he’d fallen asleep. He’d come home early in the morning that day, had left Grimmjow’s place at the break of dawn and ran his way back home. He didn’t think he was that tired. Glancing outside, he noticed it was dusk. The sun was setting and it was going to be night soon.

Ichigo couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. Sure, it was only one incident, but it was much more than Ichigo had bargained for. He was attacked by that giant thing too! Who knows what would have happened if Grimmjow wasn’t there. Ichigo shuddered a little thinking about it.

Eventually, he was sick of his own room and opened the door to his room to go downstairs for food. Yuzu greeted him cheerfully as usual when he got to the kitchen, but being the older brother he could tell she was worried again.

Ichigo smiled and ate his dinner; his family had taken theirs and had left Ichigo alone, which he appreciated.

He ate his dinner quietly, and couldn’t help but wonder, what was Grimmjow doing now? Is he in any danger? Are there gonna be any more of those masked pillar things? Those things were strong, but Grimmjow was stronger… He’d seen how easily Grimmjow had toppled those things.

No, nope, he has to stop thinking about this.

Eventually he finished his dinner and cleaned up and went back to his room.

He plopped himself onto his desk chair, idly sitting and unsure what to do. He was about to boot up his computer when he heard a knock on his window. Like any horror movie, in which Ichigo was trying to convince himself he was not in, that was a bad thing. And Ichigo didn’t dare to look for a moment. Werepanthers were real, and so could be ghosts. Not that he’s scared of them but an ugly scary face would still scare him. Maybe. Most likely.

The knocking became insistent, and ignoring the chill, Ichigo’s head snapped to the window, half expecting (and sort of hoping) Grimmjow or that masked giant thing. He didn’t expect to see a… puppy?

He stared at the pup and it stared back at him through the glass window.

The pup barked and that brought Ichigo back to focus, though startled. How did it even reach up here? Cautiously, Ichigo approached his window slowly and unlocked it, and the pup jumped in and onto his bed.

The puppy, which was ginger-brown in colour, and its eyes were bright, though it seemed to be blind in its left one. It looked like a wolf mix breed... A husky, perhaps? Ichigo wasn’t sure, but it could be a lost pet, but since it didn’t have a collar, it was most likely a stray.

While Ichigo was trying to make out what to do with the baby animal that had suddenly appeared in his room, said pup snuggled under the blankets of his bed and then a ‘poof!’ was heard and the small form under the covers grew bigger.

“Wait a minu-”

A head peeked out from under the covers, belonging to a young girl with pale green hair and bright pink eyes. Her hair reached past her chin and her fringe covered her left eye, where the puppy was blind.

“I….” Ichigo began, but wasn’t sure what to say. Another werecreature.

“You,” the girl spoke, not moving much from her position, most likely because she was naked under there and Ichigo was feeling extremely uncomfortable to have a girl as young as his sisters naked in his bed. 

What was his life coming to?

“You smell,” the girl continued, her nose wrinkling as she sniffed.

“I’m sorry?” Ichigo asked, confused rather than offended.

“You smell like that cat,” she said, still cringing. “I need you to take me to that cat!”

“Uh.”

“You know, tall, loud, always grumpy and looks like he wants to rip your head off?” the puppy-girl said, frowning as she thought hard. “Umm.. he has blue hair!”

“Oh.”

“You know him right? You smell like him. Starrk sent me to find him!”

“I, uh.”

“Come on, show me! You humans are so slow!”

“Stop,” Ichigo finally managed to say. “Stop, stop, stop. Hold on. You’re in my room, I don’t know who you are, and you want me to bring you to Grimmjow?”

“Yes,” the girl replied impatiently.

“I can’t bring you to him!”

“Why not?!”

“Because I - I just can’t, okay? I’m just a human, and you guys.. you werecreatures are dangerous and I really don’t want to bring harm to anyone, especially not my family,” Ichigo said, all in one shot, sounding a little more frustrated than he wanted to. The girl merely looked confused, like she didn’t understand what was the problem.

“Just bring me to him,” she repeated, frowning hard. She then added as an afterthought as if not familiar with the word and was just trying out, “Please.”

“I - No! Just -” Ichigo sighed, unable to say no when it comes to helping anyone. “Just, tell me who you are and why you need to find Grimmjow.”

The girl shifted, sitting up and careful to keep herself covered - though she looked like she was doing it out of courtesy than out of shyness. It seemed like werecreatures really didn’t mind nudity like humans do.

“My name is Lilynette, and Starrk sent me to find that grouchy cat, because ‘something is happening’, he said, but he didn’t tell me what,” the girl said. “There, I explained. Can we go get him now? I wanna go back already.”

‘Something is happening’..? Ichigo thought back about the appearance of the giant masked spirit. Is whatever’s happening to do with giant spirit things? Or it’s gonna involve people being in danger?

The girl, Lilynette, thought about it for a moment, looking unsure. “Well… Starrk did send me out here, by myself… So yes, I guess it’s pretty important, whether it’s dangerous or not.”

Ichigo exhaled slowly, his mind trying to gather his thoughts. “Okay… okay, fine.” He stood up and got his house keys. “It’s not too late into the night, so if we hurry, we can avoid whatever bad things that’s out there.”

Thankfully, Lilynette had the sense to change back into her animal form. Ichigo somehow succeeded in persuading her to hide into his backpack, which was big enough to hold her. He left the house in a hurry, announcing to his family that he was going out for a bit and hoped nothing bad would happen again.

Ichigo tried to retrace his steps from the night before, recalling some familiar streets but forgot half of the way. Lilynette was helpful though, peeking her head out of the bag and sniffed the air, trying to get a clue where Grimmjow would be.

Now that Ichigo thought about it, even if he did go to Grimmjow’s place, he would most likely wouldn’t be in anyway. He’d probably be out doing his nightly patrols again. Lilynette affirmed his thoughts and seemed to be pointing him away from Grimmjow’s apartment. It seemed she was leading him to where Grimmjow was at the moment, and Ichigo was sure the other guy would most likely chew his head off. Perhaps literally.

Following Lilynette’s leads (though she was mostly barking and whining like a disgruntled puppy), Ichigo stopped short in his tracks when the werepup’s fur suddenly bristled and she began to growl. Ichigo himself felt something in the air that left him feeling heavy and uneasy.

The ground rumbled on and off like familiar footsteps and the rising dread grew in Ichigo, who knew what was coming. “Shit…”

Not wasting any time, Ichigo ran the hell away from the masked pillar thing that was inevitably approaching. Lilynette was not helping by attracting attention, howling and barking and snarling at Ichigo’s back. It seemed like the thing was going after them? Whatever the reason, Ichigo was not having it and he was not gonna die like this!

“Oi! Puppy! Lily-Lilynette!? Could you please stop howling we are trying to get away from that thing!” Ichigo yelled as he ran. The pillar monster wasn’t being destructive, fortunately, taking the smooth path of the open road to navigate. Ichigo would take the maze like layout of the houses, but he didn’t want to put other people in danger.

The werepup wasn’t listening however, instead she was really howling her lungs out. Ichigo was panting, his heart beating as he felt the monster’s giant steps getting closer. He faltered when he almost tripped, but stopped completely when Lilynette stopped howling suddenly. Ichigo turned around to see, realizing the monster’s steps had stopped too. And there it was, frozen in its steps with a familiar white shape on its neck.

“Grimmjow!”

With a panther’s snarl and the grotesque sound of flesh ripping, the monster fell to the ground dead and Grimmjow gracefully landing on his feet. The werepanther in his full beast form, strode over to Ichigo who was a little nervous because he did not look happy. Lilynette’s bark reminded him what he was doing outside in this time of night, immediately taking off the bag and let the werepup out.

Grimmjow looked startled at the appearance of the puppy, but his territorial instincts reacted first, making him hiss and growl at the tiny creature, who was understandably terrified and curled back.

“No! Grimmjow stop!” Ichigo cried, pulling the shivering pup into his arms. “Stop it! It’s Lilynette! She’s a werecreature like you!” Ichigo said, shielding her from his vision. Grimmjow stopped his growls but his piercing gaze was averted to Ichigo. “She.. she said she was sent by uh, by Starrk or something. Said something about ‘something is happening’?” Ichigo blurted, flustered by both the adrenaline and an angered panther in front of him. Managing to catch his breath finally, Ichigo felt a little bolder and calmer. Grimmjow had taken care of the monster, and they were in the clear for now.

“She came by to my house because I smelled like you and just demanded me to bring her to you, and I wasn’t going to just leave the little girl out in the open when there’s those.. things! It was chasing us! I mean, and so, here we are,” Ichigo said quickly, settling into an uncomfortable silence as Grimmjow just stared at him. Lilynette’s small head peeped out from Ichigo’s arms and gave a quiet bark.

And then - Grimmjow’s panther form just suddenly shifted grotesquely. Ichigo stared agape at what he was witnessing, unable to utter a word in shock as Grimmjow apparently shifted forms. Bones, muscle and skin seemed to shift and mould itself into a new shape. He could hear the snapping of bones and the tearing of skin, and the fur seemed to go back inside the skin and Ichigo couldn’t really watch it and had to look away. It was happening really fast but it still looked rather horrifying.

What he didn’t expect was Grimmjow in all his glory standing before Ichigo, and since Ichigo was on his knees, he’s got the front view of the panther whammer.

Of course, Ichigo freaked, feeling his face combust from embarrassment but Grimmjow covered Ichigo’s mouth before he could yell. Grimmjow was pressed against Ichigo and his hand clamped over Ichigo’s mouth. The close proximity was not helping. Meanwhile, Lilynette took that moment to transform, and for some reason hers was just a poof and out of a sudden Ichigo was holding on to a naked young girl and he was freaking the fuck out.

“Kid. Shut the fuck up,” Grimmjow hissed into Ichigo’s ear and Ichigo bit his lip and screamed internally because if they were in a different place Ichigo would most likely be hard and needing to hide somewhere to jerk off. And also there was a naked little girl in his arms.

There were two very naked people against him, with one who is possibly under 13 years old.

Ripping Grimmjow’s hand from him, Ichigo managed to keep his sanity and his voice down, “Can we please get off the street where no one can see both of you naked, and most of all, me in between all of this?!”

Both werecreatures rolled their eyes, as if exasperated and after a lot of quiet bickering and transformations, they got back to Grimmjow’s apartment without a hitch.

Lilynette was given a shirt to at least cover up - or for Ichigo to not die of embarrassment and awkward eye aversion, and similarly Grimmjow wore his sweatpants. Ichigo found out that Lilynette was in fact, a wolf cub and not a husky puppy as he’d first assumed.

They’d all settled down in Grimmjow’s living room, with the host looking annoyed and uncomfortable to be having guests in his den, and an irritable, pouty young girl who didn’t want to be around the area.

“So what’s this about Starrk? And why didn’t he just come here himself?” Grimmjow asked.

“Someone has to take care of the territory. So he sent me. I didn’t think I’d come across a Menos,” Lilynette said. “I’m hungry.”

Grimmjow ignored that. “That thing’s called a Menos? Okay. So what did he send you here for?”

“All Starrk told me was to tell you that things are happening and more of the Menos are popping up. Even in our territory. The mountain isn’t as quiet and peaceful anymore. And I’m hungry.”

“You live in the mountains? The one outside the town?” Ichigo asked, digging up a pack of biscuits and offered it to the girl, who gladly took it. “And those.. Menos things just popped up?”

“Yeah,” she said as she munched on one. “And they’re going after anything that has spiritual power. Um, Starrk said someone might be making these Menos, because uh, he said something about… Menos don’t happen naturally often? Like, there’s too many of them suddenly to be natural.”

“Oh man,” Ichigo muttered under his breath. It sounded like some alien invasion. Only instead of aliens it's giant pillar monsters made of souls?

“Did he say anything about the others?” Grimmjow asked, his expression stern. Lilynette shook her head, mouth too full of biscuits to answer.

“The others, you mean, like your friends?” Ichigo asked.

“I don’t have ‘friends’. And you,” Grimmjow snarled as he turned his attention to Ichigo. “You weren’t supposed to be out there. You could have died and made a mess.”

Ichigo scowled at that tone. “Excuse you, asshole. I did you a fuckin’ favour by bringing her to you and she gave you an important message from one of your ‘not-friends’,” Ichigo snapped back, not taking the shit Grimmjow was giving him. “Yeah, I’m a goddamn human, and yes, I could have died and made a mess on the street. And yes, I did butt into this at first because of my curiousity. But you were also the one who dragged me into this. You could have totally ignored me. Chased me off, anything! So fuck you,” Ichigo yelled, standing up and taking his bag.

He was chased by a giant monster and was blamed for it, which was bullshit. Ichigo turned to leave, too angry to properly think, but before he did he turned back to Grimmjow and gave him a full punch to the other man’s face. It hit him square in the nose and Ichigo felt the sharp sting on his knuckles but also felt the satisfaction of seeing the werepanther reel back and hiss in pain.

With that, Ichigo left Grimmjow’s apartment, slamming the door shut behind him.

“Hmm, he’s pretty angry…” Lilynette muttered under her breath. Grimmjow snapped at her with a snarl that was enough to quiet her. He sighed when she lowered her head and hunched her shoulders, the smell of her fear apparent. Starrk probably wouldn’t appreciate if he accidentally scared his cub to death.

“Just stay here for tonight. Should be safe for you to go back once it’s daylight. Tell Starrk I’ll just sniff around for whatever’s possibly making this happen. I’ll write or whatever once I find out anything,” Grimmjow told her and meekly nodded, though looking more pouty rather than scared, still munching on the biscuits.

Grimmjow left her there with the blankets and pillows he’d given Ichigo before and retreated to his own room. His face still hurt from that punch, and he was sure Ichigo could have broken his nose if he wanted to. He gave a loud sigh and dropped by the bathroom to wash his face.

Ichigo was definitely pissed off. And he had reason to. Like he said, he’d been chased down by a monster he never thought existed until Grimmjow came into town and accidentally bumped into him. It wasn’t the kid’s fault and Grimmjow knew that too. It was just their misfortune to come across each other. Ichigo was a stubborn, curious idiot, and Grimmjow, for whatever reason, went along with it, even though he also tried to stop it.

He never really liked humans, and wouldn’t give a shit if one of them died by his hand or some other supernatural causes. He had even imposed his own social isolation from other humans because he didn’t like them. But Grimmjow was, admittedly and albeit reluctantly, a little interested in this young man. Maybe it was his persistence and curiosity that made it. Ichigo stuck around despite seeing him, knowing what he was and even saw a Menos, and though he might not have really wanted to do it, he still brought Lilynette out to him.

Grimmjow washed his face again and returned to his bed, laying on top of it and stared at the ceiling. He’d smelled Ichigo’s scent, and sensed the Menos’s presence. He’d also smelled a vaguely familiar scent which he wasn’t sure belonged to who at the time, and immediately thought Ichigo was in danger. Grimmjow had sprinted across town for him, so what the hell was that?

Uncomfortable with where those thoughts might be going, Grimmjow refocused on what Lilynette had informed him. Something was happening, Menos are probably being made and either someone or something was creating them. Who the hell wanted to fuck up the balance? Grimmjow was all up for chaos, but even he knew all the negative things that would follow after that. It’ll only bring more attention to their world, and once the normal, natural world were to know of their existence, all hell would probably, and maybe literally break loose.

Lilynette said these Menos went after things with spiritual power. So it explained why the Menos was chasing after them earlier, because Lilynette was there and an easy prey if it were not for the kid. But then what about that other night when the first Menos appeared? It was heading towards the park… where Ichigo was. Either the park had something, or Ichigo.. had something.

The possibility of that made Grimmjow frown. He sat up and thought it over.

Was it still possible for Ichigo to really stay out of this by now? He’d already seen too much. Met two rare Menos, two werecreatures and had even watched them transform… Grimmjow guessed it was up to the kid now, whether he wanted to be involved. After their earlier argument, it wouldn’t be surprising if he didn’t want to, and Grimmjow would rather it be that way too. But at the same time, Grimmjow knew he’d feel a little disappointed.

 _Tonight’s a little cold, isn’t it_ , Pantera purred as she flicked her tail. Grimmjow didn’t bother to reply. He laid back down and tried to sleep. Hopefully tomorrow would be a good time to start seeking answers. Sleep came over him not long after he’d closed his eyes. In his dreams, golden brown eyes stare at him in awe.

 

* * *

 

Ichigo was still pissed off. Tired and pissed off. He got back and immediately headed for bed, trying to will himself to sleep. But instead he found himself thinking of Grimmjow’s transformation. It had looked painful, sounded and he could almost feel it from watching the bizarre show. Ichigo wondered if it was as painful as it looked, wondered if Grimmjow hated transforming if it were painful. But Grimmjow was an ass and Ichigo grit his teeth, trying to shove all thoughts of the asshole of a werepanther out of his mind.

He thought of Lilynette and wondered how the cub managed to get her way through the town from the mountains. It was a pretty distant trip, especially for being so small, and wondered how Starrk looked liked, and what was their relationship. He remembered Grimmjow saying he didn’t have friends, so what were they, acquaintances? And Lilynette smelling Grimmjow on him? That sounded really embarrassing, especially out of context, and Ichigo could already feel his cheeks heat up.

Grimacing, Ichigo cleared his mind and decided not to think about werecreatures at all. But it was extremely difficult to after what had happened. It felt like so little had happened yet at the same time, it was a freaking lot. First, Ichigo had to deal with the existence of werecreatures, or at the very least werepanthers, and then a freakin’ pillar monster almost crushed him under its feet? And then comes along a puppy cub that turned out to be a young girl who lived out in the mountains as a wolf? And again Ichigo was chased by a giant monster which was apparently called a Menos.

Ichigo had to admit, it had been… interesting. Exciting.

Exhilarating.

Ichigo would even admit that it was fun. In a twisted way. Ichigo shook his head, telling himself how unbelievable he sounded, but he guessed this was how adrenaline junkies felt. Addicted to dancing with death, to feel the excitement of danger.

Grimmjow - yes, that infuriating asshole - had told him to stay away, but Ichigo had stubbornly lingered around, curious and bored out of his mind from having a normal life. Could he even go back to a normal life after seeing what he’d seen and gone through what happened earlier that night? Did he even want to go back?

Ichigo already knew the answer. He wanted to know more. He might, in whatever significant way, be able to help. Grimmjow may hate him now, but if he really wanted Ichigo out of it, he’d have to try harder to persuade him to.

With that thought, Ichigo exhaled and closed his eyes. Soon, he was drifting off to sleep, the last thought in his mind were of Grimmjow’s brilliant blue eyes that had pulled him into this.


	4. I only have eyes for you

 

“You’re asking me out?” Ichigo blurted as he stared at Grimmjow, and after a moment he realized what he’d just said. Unsurprisingly he felt his cheeks heat up and Ichigo had to cover his face for a moment. “I mean, why do you need me to go with you?”

“I need to check something,” Grimmjow shrugged, seemingly uncaring or just ignoring of Ichigo’s flustering and flailing. “Having a human around might be useful.”

“Oh.. okay,” Ichigo muttered, once he’d calmed down. “I thought you didn’t want a human around.”

Grimmjow shrugged in response, just giving a mere grunt as he walked away from Ichigo’s doorstep, expecting Ichigo to follow. Ichigo had to grab his wallet and keys, running out the door to catch up with the other man.

Ichigo was really shocked to have answered the door to the werepanther, when just a couple days back, said person had yelled at him and basically told him he was in the way. Ichigo had hoped he could do something, though he didn’t know what he actually could do, but it seemed like Grimmjow had something in store for him. 

“I’m looking for the source of the Menos,” Grimmjow said as Ichigo fell into step with him. 

“Right. Any ideas?” Ichigo asked, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jacket. The weather was pretty cooling despite it being just after noon. Grimmjow had the same hoodie on when Ichigo first met him, but didn’t seem to pay any heed to the cold. 

“Not really. I told ya I'm pretty new to this town. Thought you could be of of some help there," Grimmjow answered gruffly. 

"Not sure how I'm supposed to know where a Menos could come from," Ichigo grumbled.

"Any place that looks sacred or ya think could be a place that would have lots of spirits around," Grimmjow suggested, looking to Ichigo. 

"You mean, like haunted areas or shrines?" Ichigo asked, immediately thinking of some. "There's actually a shrine by the lake... The forest you've been lurking around in? As for haunted areas... Some people say the school is haunted. Or that abandoned building.." 

"Ya know where they are?" 

"Uh, yeah. Not the abandoned building though. I'd have to ask around. But we could head for the shrine first," Ichigo offered, watching Grimmjow who appeared restless. "Are you okay?" 

"Fine," Grimmjow replied curtly, causing Ichigo to roll his eyes. "We'll go to the shrine." 

"Right..." Ichigo muttered and led the way. They walked together in awkward silence, leaving Ichigo uncomfortable. He wasn't the type who needed to keep talking, but it just felt weird. Ichigo could only imagine what was going through Grimmjow's head though. But with the Menos problem and having a human know of his real existence... Ichigo didn't think it'd be good.

Eventually they reached the shrine, after almost half an hour of no talking and going past the reconstruction of the park that was destroyed the other time. It wasn’t too uncomfortable or awkward, fortunately, but it was a relief when they got to the shrine.

It wasn’t a large one that people often visited, but it was a small shrine situated right by the lake, under a shelter with a small faded torii. It was an old shrine, and seemed almost abandoned, but it seemed like someone had cleaned the area recently.

“Funny, I’ve never noticed this when I was around,” Grimmjow murmured as he surveyed the area. It was really strange. Grimmjow had patrolled and explored the town, and especially the park and lake area where he usually spent most of his time as a panther, and yet he’d never came across this. And the area felt strange. It didn’t feel like it was supernaturally charged, like some shrines do, but it felt different from its surrounding area.

“Well?” Ichigo asked as he watched Grimmjow sniffing around. He looked more focused than usual, his brows furrowed and his scowl deepened. Ichigo thought he saw Grimmjow’s eyes glow, but just for a moment. “Do you... sense anything?” 

“...No,” Grimmjow replied, squinting as he stared at the shrine with suspicion.

“So we got the wrong place,” Ichigo sighed. “I could try asking around about the abandoned building…   


“No, I don’t sense  _ anything _ ,” Grimmjow said again, turning to Ichigo. “Everything has something. This place, there’s absolutely nothing. It’s hollow.”

Ichigo was surprised by that response. “So what does that mean…? Hollow like... something was taken out of it?”

“Yeah…” Grimmjow murmured, looking around again. Then, he heard something.

“Grimm-!” Ichigo tackled the larger man to the ground, right as something swooped by them. It was another monster. But this one wasn’t a Menos. Grimmjow was more familiar with this one. It was a grotesque humanoid, winged monster with a bleached white mask. It let out a screeching cry as it began to swoop down on them again.

This time, Grimmjow was prepared. Both he and Ichigo managed to get out of the way, and immediately Grimmjow headed for the trees so he could transform and fight back. 

The thing wasn’t interested in humans. Supernatural beings usually prey on each other, so Ichigo should be fine…

That is, as long as he doesn’t go after the monster. 

Once transformed, Grimmjow climbed up the trees and pounced on the winged monster - a Hollow, as it’s normally called due to the hole in its body. The Hollow dodged easily though, and hovered over Grimmjow just out of his reach. 

Grimmjow snarled and growled at it, daring the creature to come closer, but it only screeched, swooping down only to attack but it dodged too fast for Grimmjow to catch it. But suddenly it screeched out a pained cry as if hit and whirled around, and since distracted, it lowered its altitude, allowing Grimmjow to attempt another pounce at it, but only managed to scratch at its feet. 

The creature thrashed in response to the attack, its wildly beating wings summoning up a whirlwind that sent dirt and dry leaves flying. Grimmjow was blinded by the dirt momentarily and the Hollow took its chance to attack. Grimmjow could barely make out the creature’s claws approaching him through the dirt in his eyes when something  _ else _ tackled the Hollow out. 

Shaking his head to clear the dirt out of his eyes, Grimmjow could just see a human’s form on the Hollow. Despite the sting, Grimmjow forced his eyes open to see, realizing it was Ichigo wrestling the larger creature onto the floor, pinning down its wings and had his limbs locked around the Hollow that looked like a martial arts move. 

“G-Grimmjow, could you give a hand over here?!” Ichigo yelled, clearly struggling. Though still a little stunned by what Ichigo had just done, Grimmjow gave a roar.

‘Get out of the way!’ Ichigo heard through that beastly sound, as if Grimmjow’s disembodied voice was within it. Keeping his head level Ichigo nodded to the werepanther, and in 3… 2… 1 -

Ichigo released the Hollow and immediately scrambled out of the way as Grimmjow threw himself onto it, setting his powerful jaws over the Hollow’s throat and ripped it out. He continued to maim and maul the creature, consuming it till it was a mangled mess and was slowly disintegrating into glowing particles that was similar to what happened to the Menos things before.

It was then that Ichigo realized he’d been holding his breath, letting out a relieved exhale and gripped at his chest. He could feel his heart pounding from what happened and what he’d done. He didn’t even realized that he’d actually physically attacked a monster!

“That was…. crap…” Ichigo muttered, still catching his breath. Ichigo had taken some martial arts as a kid, and he’d just instinctively used a joint lock move on a supernatural being! He didn’t expect it to work either, thinking it would just toss him off easily. It was his luck that the creature didn’t have as much strength as it appeared. 

Grimmjow’s panther form slinked back into the woods where he’d disappeared briefly before to transform. He soon stepped out half dressed and in the middle of slipping on his top. He didn’t look roughed up from the ordeal, though mostly his hair messy and his eyes red from the earlier attack.

“Are you okay? Your eyes…” Ichigo asked, reaching out to touch under Grimmjow’s eyes before he realized what he was doing. “Ah, sorry. I think you should wash your face to wash that out.”

“It’s fine,” Grimmjow shrugged it off, though he was squinting a little. “Good job locking that thing down. You’re lucky that thing was pretty weak.”

“I thought I was gonna die,” Ichigo muttered, sighing tiredly. “But it worked out, and you killed it. Now we can scope the area in peace.”

Grimmjow rubbed at his eyes and nodded. Ichigo watched as the man walked over to the old shrine and looked around it, searching for something. Ichigo joined in too, looking around the area for anything out of place.

They came up with nothing. 

“There’re no clues…”

“No, this place being weird and that monster before are good enough clues. I just have to go ask around,” Grimmjow said, rubbing his eyes again.

“Come on, let’s just go back. We really need to get somewhere to wash your face, it looks like it’s getting worse,” Ichigo insisted, looking concerned. Grimmjow’s eyes were still red and puffy. The man grumbled but seemed to relent.

Ichigo led Grimmjow to the park area. Though it was mostly closed off for reparations, the public washrooms were still available and he’d basically pushed Grimmjow in. He waited by the doorway while the blue haired man washed his face, especially his eyes. It seemed to work, fortunately, and the other man looked a bit relieved. 

“Should we still search the other building?” Ichigo asked, trying not to stare too much. 

“No, it’s fine for now. You should go back,” Grimmjow told him wiping off the excess water from his eyes. “I’ll walk you back so you don’t get chased by Menos again.” 

“That’s mostly your fault,” Ichigo muttered, though he thought he saw the other guy smirk. 

They walked back mostly in silence. They were only out for a few hours, but after what had happened at the shrine, it had felt like a whole day had gone by. Ichigo wondered if Lilynette made it back safe, and thought about what other werecreatures existed in the area. Grimmjow seemed to be in charge of this town, or he decided that he’d be taking over. Was there anyone else who knew of their existence? 

“You mind telling me who you’re going to ask about the shrine?” Ichigo asked, breaking the silence. 

“Someone,” Grimmjow replied curtly. Ichigo frowned.

“Are they another werecreature? Or a human?” Ichigo asked again, persistent and curious. Grimmjow sighed, looking annoyed, but he answered anyway.

“I don’t know. He’s not a werecreature but not really human either. I just know him through my past connections and he’s in this town. That’s all I can tell you,” Grimmjow answered, shooting a stern look at Ichigo, who accepted it with a nod. 

“Ya sure you don’t want me to come along with you? I might save your ass again,” Ichigo teased, trying to lighten up the tension. Both of them needed it.

“Pff, you were just lucky. And it caught me by surprise. I tore it a new one, ya saw it yourself,” Grimmjow scoffed, though he was clearly grinning smugly. Ichigo grinned too, nudging the other with his elbow.

“Sure, you’re the big bad panther,” Ichigo assured, laughing as Grimmjow gave a playful snap of his teeth at him. It was surprising to see the other act familiar with him, but Ichigo certainly welcomed it. 

They reached Ichigo’s home sooner than Ichigo would have liked. Grimmjow didn’t say anything, just a curt nod before he walked off. At least it was something. Ichigo watched the other man go, mind racing on what could possibly happen in the future. What did those clues mean? Ichigo wondered if there was any other way he could help.

Feeling somewhat determined, Ichigo retreated to his room and decided to try digging for info on the Internet.  

Ichigo had initially thought it wouldn’t be much help, since supposedly, no one was to know supernatural creatures exist right? But nope, apparently the world was that wide and so was the Internet.

He had to dig around first, of course. The initial searches led to silly teenage-related fiction, but since Ichigo was like nearly every other teen in a tech savvy era, he managed to find some sites with more legit and formal sounding info that coincided with his experiences. 

One link led to another, and Ichigo was sucked into reading numerous articles and posts on werecreatures, spirits and the supernatural. He didn’t find the words that Grimmjow and Lilynette had used to call them, but the descriptions were pretty spot on. It seemed like they weren’t exactly that secret, then. And he had thought all these were bullshit and hoaxes. Fact is stranger than fiction, as they say… 

Werecreatures though, were pretty hard to find information on. Most of the links and sources he’d checked only had info on them from myths, legends and fiction. Once in a while Ichigo found posts on sightings, but most of them didn’t seem true or too exaggerated, compared to Grimmjow and Lilynette, the two werecreatures he had the luck to know of.

Ichigo grew frustrated at the lack of information on them, but remembered that Grimmjow  _ did _ mention that they were rare, and that he was supposed to help with finding more on the increasing presence of Menos. With that, Ichigo got to work.

 

* * *

 

Grimmjow disappeared for a few days after that. Naturally, Ichigo worried. Did something get him? Was there a Menos prowling around and clashed with Grimmjow during one of his nightly patrols? Ichigo was getting restless with each passing day. He had considered dropping by Grimmjow’s place, but one - he didn’t want to get chewed out for being a busybody; two - he’d feel like a stalker if he did that, because they aren’t exactly friends; and three - well, maybe he  _ did _ drop by Grimmjow’s place,  or, more of around the area and watched from afar, and so far there didn’t seem to be anything unusual.

Ichigo had found little information on his research. Supernatural creatures, the Menos, angry spirits and the like - after seeing the real deal, he could screen through the information, and all those had been filtered, but it left with few good information. 

The orange haired teen moved away from his desktop, the screen filled with compilations of articles he’d read. He had just left his room when he heard Yuzu call him from downstairs. Amongst that, he could hear coos of joy, and what sounded like Karin laughing.

“Ichi-nii! Your friend’s here! He’s got a very cute puppy!” Yuzu called, sounding absolutely delighted. Ichigo rushed down immediately, his thoughts going straight to Grimmjow and Lilynette. However, when he got to the door, he met with a man he didn’t recognize. 

In his arms was the familiar wolf cub form of Lilynette. Karin and Yuzu were cooing over her of course, mistakenly thinking she was a puppy. 

“Um, I’m sorry, but who are…?” Ichigo began to say, but Lilynette suddenly jumped off the man’s arms and onto Ichigo, who had to catch her. 

“Aah, I knew it, you are the owner,” the man - tall, older and had shoulder length wavy brown hair, said. He spoke lazily, like he would much rather not be bothered with all this. Ichigo took a good look at him. He wore a coat with furs, which was a little unusual, in all greys and he looked classy. His goatee and sharp, bluish grey eyes added to his look. For some reason, Ichigo could tell this was the guy both Grimmjow and Lilynette mentioned before.

“The owner?” Yuzu piped in excitedly. “Ichi-nii! You didn’t tell us you had a puppy!”

“Did you hide it in your room all this time? I’m telling the old man!” Karin added, looking annoyed, though she was clearly eyeing the pup in Ichigo’s arms longingly.. 

“Ah, no it’s just a misunderstanding -” Ichigo tried. Lilynette barked, and Ichigo took it as a cue to go. “Uh, let’s talk this out upstairs!” Ichigo grabbed the man and dragged him in up to his room. Though they needed a private place to talk, his bedroom wasn’t exactly suitable since his sisters could eavesdrop, but they had to be out of the way of prying eyes so Lilynette could take her human form too. 

Once the door was closed and locked, Ichigo signalled to them to lower their voices.

  
First, he turned to the man, whom he wasn’t sure what his name was. Did Lilynette mention it before?

“Starrk!” Lilynette said, a little too loudly, the moment she transformed to her human form. Ichigo hushed her, but the girl ignored him. “We got Ichigo now. But shouldn’t we have gone to that cat instead?” 

Right, Starrk was his name. Starrk sighed and waved her off. He turned to Ichigo instead.

“Sorry for that, I heard from Lilynette you’re the human who knows about us. I thought it would be a good idea to drop by to thank you for looking out for her,” Starrk told him. “I didn’t expect your family to be home, but little girls like puppies, so Lilynette was a useful distraction for once.” 

“Hey!” Lilynette growled, sounding much like a disgruntled puppy. 

“Anyways, why I’m here’s because Grimmjow went to find me. We talked, he left, and now I’m looking for him. We thought he’d be back at his place by now, but apparently he’s not around. We thought you’d know about it,” Starrk continued, his eyes fixed on Ichigo. Ichigo had observed that despite the lazy, laid back air around him, the man was strong - and dangerous. 

Compared to Grimmjow’s intimidating, sharp aura, Starrk’s felt more composed and steely. 

“I didn’t hear from him for a couple of days, actually. I didn’t even know he left to look for you,” Ichigo replied, managing to hide the bitterness in his voice. 

“Pff, useless~” Lilynette muttered under her breath. Starrk gave a light slap over her head.

“Well, that’s fine. I think he probably went to see that guy again,” Starrk shrugged. “Hm, do you know about ‘that guy’, Ichigo?”

“No? Is this guy even human?” Ichigo asked, brows furrowed. Were they talking about the person Grimmjow was thinking of meeting earlier?

“Ah, well, I guess that’s a mystery,” Starrk said, sounding more coy than Ichigo thought he was capable of. “I was the one who told Grimmjow about him. I suppose I should have headed there.” Starrk got to his feet, and Lilynette immediately returned to her cub form. Apparently they were leaving, and Ichigo promptly followed suit.

“Let me follow you guys!” Ichigo exclaimed, surprised by his own voice. Starrk stared at him, looking just as surprised, then looked to Lilynette. The pup barked, but Ichigo couldn’t tell what she was saying. 

“Well, I guess if it’s you, and even Grimmjow’s fine with you, it should be fine,” Starrk agreed easily, to both Ichigo’s surprise and relief. Ichigo wondered what Grimmjow and Starrk had talked about, and to think that he was actually mentioned in their conversation… it made Ichigo’s heart hitch just a little. Though, he hoped he was spoken of positively rather than the other way round. 

With some elaborate talk about misunderstandings and mix ups, Ichigo managed to get his sisters to let them off and not steal Lilynette away from Starrk, and the three of them got out of the Kurosaki house without further trouble. Starrk, with Lilynette perched on his shoulder somehow, brought Ichigo through the town. Apparently Starrk was more familiar with the place, or maybe he was just better and more used to human settings than Lilynette. 

“Lilynette mentioned that you live in the mountains, outside the town,” Ichigo began to say, both trying to break the silence and also fish for information. “And there were Menos appearing. Do you have any information on that?”

“Hmm,” Starrk hummed, looking thoughtful. He glanced at Ichigo for a second, then responded, “Our pack had went around looking for any traces of high spiritual power. Some of the abandoned shrines had some traces of Menos, but nothing else. We’re not exactly that knowledgeable about Menos, or anything else that isn’t about werecreatures, so we couldn’t do much. Grimmjow had offered to share the information if he learned anything. He said he’d get back to us after seeing that man, but I decided maybe I could do with a short visit myself.”

Ichigo took it all in. Shrines were a common place of where spiritual power gathered and where Menos had appeared. Perhaps, truly, all it boiled down to was that these creatures were attracted to spiritual places, where there should be a higher amount of spirit power. But the question was, why now? 

Starrk had his own pack of wolves, and had them gather information. It sounded cool, in Ichigo’s head, like the man was a gang leader, only instead of leading men, he was leading wolves. With his laid back behaviour, and the fact that he was taking care of such a young girl (pup?), Ichigo had a good impression of Starrk. It made him wonder how Grimmjow and Starrk got to know each other, especially since their personalities were very different. Perhaps it was due to Starrk’s go-with-whatever attitude, and Ichigo also pondered on how strong this guy was.

Without Ichigo realizing it, they seemed to have reached their destination. Ichigo looked up to the small, one-story building they had stopped in front of and - why does this place look so familiar?

Voices could be heard from within, behind the sliding door entrance. 

Ichigo could pick out a familiar voice - two actually. One was Grimmjow’s! And the other…

The sliding door slammed open, and a tall figure with blue hair stepped out. 

Even though it had only been a few days, Ichigo felt something as he took in the sight of the familiar man. He took in the brilliant shade of blue in his hair, the sharp angles of his face, the thin lips that were always in a scowl, the broad shoulders that held power. And of course, those blue, blue eyes. 

Cobalt blue eyes immediately fixed on warm brown, and Ichigo forgot to breathe for a moment.

“Ichigo?” Grimmjow stared at him in what seemed like confusion. Clearly he didn’t expect Ichigo to be there. “What the hell are you doing here, with Starrk?”

“Oh! Kurosaki-san!” A hatted head with unruly, sandy blond hair peeked out from behind the werepanther. “I didn’t expect you to know each other!” The man with the hat grinned as he revealed himself.

“U-U-Urahara-san?!” Ichigo yelled, stepping back in shock. His dad’s friend is involved with all this? No wonder the building was familiar, it was Urahara’s shop!

And then, what the werecreatures have been saying, rushed back to him.

“Wait, wait. They said you’re not a werecreature but not really human either! What are you?! Does my old man even know about this??!” Ichigo wasn’t sure what to think of all this. Of course, he was kind of panicking.

“Aah, well let’s talk about that later,” Urahara dismissed it all with a wave of the paper fan in his hand. He turned to Starrk and Lilynette, who gave him a simple greeting. “Starrk-san! And little, Lily, come in! We’ve got much to talk about and it’s been a while!”

Ichigo stared dumbly at the trio as they went into the building, closing the door after them. Ichigo and Grimmjow were left outside in awkward silence.

Understandably, Ichigo was annoyed that he’d been ignored. He stole a glance at Grimmjow who had his usual scowl, his back leaning against the entrance wall. 

“So, you went to see Starrk,” Ichigo offered, trying to get out of this awkwardness. Grimmjow shrugged.

“Had to tell him what Urahara told me about the Menos.”

“So, you got what you wanted to know?” Ichigo asked, hoping Grimmjow would tell him. The man seemed reluctant to, scowling and glaring as he faced Ichigo, but maybe he saw something on Ichigo’s face that changed his mind.

“Apparently, someone’s been summoning the Menos,” Grimmjow said. “For what, we don’t know yet, but at the least, that Urahara guy said he’d felt traces of spells that gathered spirit power. Spiritual places already attract spirits by itself, but with whatever this unknown person did, it had amplified that amount, and had caused an increase in the creation of Menos.

“Sounds like there’s gonna be some invasion…” Ichigo muttered, not knowing what else to say. As a human who didn’t know any of these existed until recently, he found himself detached from it. After all, it was all too unbelievable and movie-like. 

“Pretty much,” Grimmjow added honestly. Silence hung over them again. “Ya know, you could still get out of this. It doesn’t have anything to do with humans.”

“What are you saying, of course it does! These things almost killed me! And they can hurt people, and the park was destroyed! Of course it has to do with us, with me!” Ichigo yelled at him angrily. “Are you that desperate to get rid of me?”

Ichigo stared down at the other man, who was taken aback by his outburst. Grimmjow fidgeting, looking away.

“You’ll just get hurt and it’ll make me...” Grimmjow mumbled, and Ichigo had to strain his ears to hear what he said.

“What was that?”

“Tsk, it’s nothing, just go!”

“No! Tell me!”

“Just leave it alone already!”

“Fuckin’ tell me, you stupid cat!”

“I said you’re just gonna get hurt and I’m not okay with that, alright?!”

Ichigo opened his mouth to retort once again, but the words that were thrown at him sank in. Ichigo could also see that Grimmjow had just realized what he’d just said and looked flustered despite his intensifying glare. What it did only saturated the colour of his eyes, despite the dim light of dusk. 

Meanwhile, Ichigo felt like his face was going to combust. 

“I-I’m gonna go home,” Ichigo mumbled, not realizing he was covering his face with his hands. If Grimmjow stared at him any harder he might say something stupid.

“Oi, what’re you sayin’? You’re just my responsibility since I pulled ya into this! And why are coverin’ your face?” Grimmjow continued, sounding desperate. Ichigo wanted to punch him to shut him up.

“Yeah, I know, I just…” Ichigo couldn’t say anything else, feeling so damn happy over something Grimmjow probably didn’t mean. “I’ll- I’ll see you later! Tell Starrk it was nice meeting him!” 

“Hey, wait-” Grimmjow grabbed Ichigo by the shoulder, and their gazes met. Ichigo was sure his face was an embarrassing shade of red; he could still feel his cheeks were on fire. Grimmjow was just staring at him, wide eyed, but it looked as if there was a sense of realization in his eyes, as if he’d just thought of something.

“What do you want ?” Ichigo grit out, still embarrassed but mostly just wanting to escape from his current rush of feelings. “I thought I should just go since Urahara and Starrk are busy talking…”

“......”

Grimmjow was still not saying a thing and Ichigo had to peel himself away. “I’ll just see you later okay? And you owe me more information on all this! I’m still involved, no matter what you say!”

With that spoken, Ichigo turned and walked home, briskly. Grimmjow didn’t stop him, but Ichigo could still feel his gaze on his back.

As he walked, Ichigo could no longer deny his attraction for Grimmjow, and the sense of hope and longing that accompanied the memory of Grimmjow saying…  _ that _ . At least, that meant Grimmjow was concerned for him, right?

By the time he got back home, his mind was completely filled with the colour blue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mm, sorry guys, I think this would be the end of this story. I won't tag it as complete, because it's obviously not, and there is like, 5% chance of me continuing it, if ever (like all my other stories hah..). I think I should try my best at one shots since I can't commit to multi chaps orz
> 
> Title of chapter from "I only have eyes for you" by The Flamingos.


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